The world No. 1 and No. 2, who arrived in Atlanta leading the four-tournament FedEx standings, paid - to the tune of £7 million - for failing to break par and keep the pressure on the American at the Edge Lake course on Sunday.

Woods was philosophical after carding a final-day par, playing a course on which he has come in below par on in 13 of his previous 16 rounds.

"Considering where I was last year, it's nice to be where I'm at now," Woods said. "I was obviously struggling with my health last year, and this year I was able to turn it around."

It was Woods' long game that abandoned him in Atlanta, having shown signs of a return to vintage form earlier in the tournament. "I hit it great the first day, but after that it wasn't very good, especially on the weekend," Woods conceded. "I fought very hard just to shoot what I shot. I wasn't sharp."

Like Woods, McIlroy must put a woeful 74 behind him quickly as thoughts now turn to the Ryder Cup. The Northern Irishman was out of the running for both prizes by the turn, playing a conservative back nine to finish in a tie for 10th.

"I'm a little disappointed, to be honest," McIlroy said, blaming a bad day at the office off the tee. "You've got to hit fairways when the rough is as tough and the greens are as firm as this.

"I've had a great few weeks, but it would have been nice to have given myself a bit more of a chance."

After enduring a tricky start to his Manchester United career, perhaps it is fair that Marcos Rojo celebrated so boisterously as he watched his first professional club Estudiantes beat fierce rivals Gimnasia